Access panels are used in the housing and construction industries for providing removable covers of utilities located behind structural surfaces, such as walls and ceilings. The utility may be a plumbing fixture, such as for example a valve on a water line or a meter on a gas line, or an electrical fixture, such as for example an electrical switch or circuit breaker. The access panel is removable for providing access to the utility.
Frameless access panels are designed to grip an inside surface of an opening within a wall or ceiling, without requiring a separate frame to be mounted within the opening. Several frameless access panels have been previously disclosed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,836 to Brown is directed to a closure device for an access opening having a face plate attractively complementing a surface in which the opening occurs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,312 to Szyjkowski is directed to an access panel for installation over an opening in paneling of a wall or ceiling.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,618,996 to Szyjkowski is directed to an access panel for covering an aperture in a structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,931,794 to Burgess is directed to a framing device or support member for framing a fitting.
U.S. Design Pat. No. D611,170 to Hiner is directed to a design of an access panel.
Swedish Patent No. 465,226 to Wahlberg is directed to an inspection hatch comprising a cover panel intended, when positioned, to cover an opening in a so-called pipe shaft.
Improvements of frameless access panels are generally desired. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel frameless access panel.